It’s the Bratwurst, Stupid!
What makes the RAWROD a must-attend springtime event?
The great scenery?
The company?
The 100 miles of pedaling?
Yes. Certainly. But I can find those things anytime. Indeed, the White Rim, and bicycles, and good friends, are only a small part of why the Ride Around the White Rim in a Day is always one of my favorite rides of the year. I start looking forward to the weekend in late January, knowing that it will invariably arrive sometime in late April, ushering in the spring and the long, singletrack-laden days of summer. I look forward to the wide-open horizons, the delicate sandstone towers, and the never-ending winding road. But more than any of that, more than the blue and the red of sky and earth, more than the campfire stories, or the camaraderie, and long-anticipated arrival of spring, there is something else that makes the weekend one of—if not the very—best of the year.
And that something is this:
If there is a corporeal manifestation of nirvana, these are it.
How, you might be wondering, does one make beer boiled brats? Easy:
1. Boil brats over low heat in PBR, and other secret ingredients, until fully cooked.
2. Grill brats over an open fire. Juniper wood is preferable, but any will do.
3. Wrap in Kenny’s homemade bread.
4. Smother in spicy brown mustard.
5. Eat.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 until belly is full (2-3 repetitions is recommended).
7. Sit back and watch the stars explode above the empty desert.
I’m already looking forward to April 2012.
10 Comments
slowerthensnot
April 25, 2011yum yum!
Bob
April 25, 2011apparently, related to some of your twits and facepalm posts, they may not of been fully cooked in the PBR
Grizzly Adam
April 25, 2011Those issues came before. I think the brats fixed them, actually.
Fatty
April 25, 2011Full agreement here. A couple of expansions and clarifications for people who want to see for themselves.
The other ingredients aren’t actually secret. 12-18 cans PBR (or any cheap beer) + 1 loosely chopped onion + 1/2 bottle Worcestershire is the beer-boiling juice of choice. That’ll submerge up to 40 brats. Bring to a slow boil and let boil for an hour. I do this the night before on my kitchen stove because bringing (and keeping) a huge pot to boil w/ a little Coleman stove takes too long. So once boiled, I just double-bag the brats and put them on ice for the trip to Moab.
Since the brats are completely cooked by boiling, the only things the fire has to do is give the brat a smokey flavor, warm the brat up, and crisp the skin. You can get a lot of brats cooked very quickly this way.
Mustard: I’m kind of particular about this: Gulden’s Spicy Brown.
Kenny’s bread: Honestly, I don’t know how bread can be so good. He’s got a gift.
Fatty
April 25, 2011One more thing: I really like the photos from this post and hope you won’t mind when I steal them.
Grizzly Adam
April 25, 2011Steal away. Just toss a link in with them. 🙂
mark
April 25, 2011Step 5a: wash down with Sierra Nevada pale ale or other quality craft beer with a medium body and noticeable hop presence.
“Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain.”
dug
April 26, 2011rye is poisonous to fowl.
weird.
Vito
April 25, 2011Did fatty make it the whole way without having to repeat last years episode?
Fat Cyclist » Blog Archive » RAWROD 2011 Ride Report
April 26, 2011[…] night before RAWROD started as it always does — and always should: with bratwurst. Grizzly Adam talks about this in his post today, from which I’m stealing a […]